General: Cushion Cryptantha (Cryptantha circumscissa) is a small, mound-shaped annual forb with small leaves and tiny white flowers. Each leaf has a spine on the tip.

Cushion Cryptantha can be a common component of desert vegetation communities on sandy and gravel soils in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats), Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zones. It can also be found in higher life zones.

Family: Borage (Boraginaceae).

Plant Form: low, compact mound; spiny.

Height: Usually about 2 inches, to 6 inches.

Stems: None.

Leaves: To about 3/4-inch long, narrow; bristly with a spine on the tip.

Flowers: Tiny, white; tubular with 5 petals.

Habitat: Sandy and rocky desert soils.

Elevation: To about 11,000 feet.

Distribution: California to Washington, Wyoming, and Arizona.

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